


Netted

by Ceebee



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: 5x01 episode tag, Boy Scouts AU, M/M, Mentions of homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-07
Updated: 2012-10-07
Packaged: 2017-11-15 20:45:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/531513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceebee/pseuds/Ceebee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would have happened in the net, had Merlin and Arthur been boy scouts.</p><p>(Essentially the same as what actually happened, but with a mobile phone and jelly babies.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Netted

**Author's Note:**

> This was partly inspired by me being on a girl guide trip thingy at the same time as 5x01 aired. That and the fact that I thought teenage!Merthur in the net would be kinda adorable.
> 
> ~~It hasn't been beta'd and I'm still correcting things every time I read through it, but I wanted to post it before the next ep comes out. If you spot any obvious mistakes, please let me know!~~
> 
>  
> 
> Now masterfully beta'd by the lovely [Kitsuneshadow](kitsuneshadow.tumblr.com) :')

“You’re going to have to go through again how this happened, because I literally don’t have a fucking clue.” Merlin’s voice came out slightly muffled as he tried to find a position that didn’t result in his face pressed uncomfortably against the ropes of the net encasing him, or his foot stuck within a few centimetres of Arthur’s crotch. But no matter how he decided to go about it, he was failing dismally on both accounts. 

“I hate you so much,” was the reply he got. “You complete idiot, Merlin.” 

Merlin frowned before sighing and letting his body simply relax as best it could. The only things he kept tense were his toes, as if by curling them up he might prevent the other boy from noticing that he was one twitch away from delivering a brief, humiliating foot-job. “It wasn’t _all_ my fault. You were hungry too!” 

“ _Yes_ ,” Arthur agreed, twisting slightly to try and sit up, and making Merlin gasp as the net swayed from where it was suspended from a branch up above, “but _I_ didn’t go, ‘Ooooh look, an unprotected packet of jelly babies, my favourite sweets in the world what a coincidence, let’s go eat them and get me and Arthur killed.’” He ended on a huff, his arms folded across his chest. 

“We didn’t get killed,” Merlin replied, rolling his eyes at the blond. “Don’t be such a baby. We’re just...just stuck, for a little while. You’ll see—Mordred will get bored in a minute and come cut us down.” 

“Even _you_ can’t believe that,” Arthur said incredulously. “You think _Mordred_ will get bored of knowing that we’re just hanging here, with absolutely no way of getting out unless he lets us?” 

Merlin bit his lip, thinking of the boy who had joined their scout pack two months back. Mordred taken an instant dislike to him and then, consequently, everyone who he associated with which, first and foremost, meant Arthur. “Well, maybe not,” he conceded, before adding brightly, “but I’ve still got some jelly babies left!” 

“Great.” Arthur’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, but the heavy sigh he gave next sounded, to Merlin, like forgiveness. Merlin knew in retrospect that this _had_ sort of all been his fault, seeing as he had been the one to hurry over and snatch up the sweets only to have his feet pulled out from under him as the net tightened, the whole thing coming together like magic and hoisting him into the air. 

He couldn’t bring himself to regret it though, when he thought back to how Arthur had yelled his name, with an obvious note of panic ringing in his voice before he jumped forwards and wrapped his arms protectively around Merlin’s waist. His intention had no doubt been to drag Merlin backwards and out of harm’s way, but he hadn’t been quick enough. Merlin wondered whether there was something wrong with him, when he found he couldn’t decide whether he was happy or not to be facing several hours stuck in a not too cosy booby trap, with Arthur pulling exasperated faces at him, and nothing to eat apart from half a packet of squished sweets. 

He offered Arthur a small ‘whatcha gonna do?’ smile before pulling his mobile out of his pocket to send an absentminded text to Gwen, his second best friend in the world after the prat squashed opposite him, and to tell her of the event now unfolding. “Merlin.” At that moment, Arthur sounded like he was gritting his teeth. 

Merlin spared him the briefest of glances before going back to his phone. “Yeah?” 

“You do know we weren’t allowed our mobiles?” 

Merlin finished hitting the keys that would equate to ‘ _omg gwen if he moves im gonna be able to feel his balls_ ’ then muttered, “Bite me.” 

Arthur let his head fall back as far as it could within the confines of the net. “You are the worst boy scout _ever_.” 

“So you’ve said. Twice this weekend, and about twenty-thousand-gazillion times over the course of the seven years I’ve known you. Even though _you’re_ the one who used to be a bully, before I taught you the error of your ways, and you _still_ can’t cook to save your life.” 

Arthur snorted, “And you can?” 

“Better than you, at any rate!” 

“Okay, fine—I’ll admit that you are a _slightly_ better cook, but you’re still as completely thick as you’d been the first day I met you.” 

Merlin frowned, finally looking up from his phone properly to see Arthur looking at him with a fondly maddened expression on his face. “I’m not! How am I?” 

“ _Because_ , you complete and utter imbecile, you have a _phone_. Just give Elyan a fucking call, and he can cut us down!” 

“ _Ooh_ ,” Merlin replied, nodding appreciatively, “right. Yeah, I never thought of that. But you see though? Me and Elyan weren’t stupid enough to leave our phones behind, like _some_ people I know.” 

“No,” Arthur agreed, “Although, had I brought my phone, I would have called Elyan about half an hour ago, instead of wasting time gossiping with my girlfriend.” 

Merlin felt his cheeks go red, and his grip tightened defensively around the mobile. “Gwen isn’t my girlfriend! She’s more _your_ girlfriend than mine.” 

Arthur didn’t reply, except to twist his neck and stare at the ground, making the net spin a little along with him. “No, she’s not. Now will you hurry up and call him, for Christ’s sake? I know that in a second you’ll start whining about something and I’d rather not be putting up with that all night, thank you very much.” 

Merlin might have pouted a little as he located Elyan’s name on his contact list and at the same time tried to figure out whether Arthur could really believe he fancied _Gwen_ when here he was, wishing that there was a way to keep him tied up against Arthur all night long. 

It was just as he thought this, with his phone halfway to his ear, that Arthur used his hands to try and lever himself up so that his back wasn’t pressed against the knots of the rope, and Merlin lost his grip on the device. He yelped something like, “Dammit, Arthur!” the same time as Arthur let out a noise that could easily be described as a strangled yell of despair, and their only means of escape fell through a gap in the net before hitting the floor. 

“Merlin!” Arthur shoved at the dark-haired boy roughly, trying to reach down and grab the phone, but it was just out of reach. Merlin attempted to scramble out of the way so that he wasn’t effectively sitting on Arthur’s head, but fucking hell, there really wasn’t enough room. 

“This is ridiculous!” he squeaked, struggling in vain to angle his legs so that a passing onlooker wouldn’t think he was using Arthur as his own, humanoid chair. 

“ _You’re_ ridiculous,” was the answering snarl, and Arthur pulled back, dislodging Merlin in the process until they both sat in almost the same places as before, except maybe a tiny bit closer. 

On the ground below, the phone vibrated. Arthur’s scowl deepened, and Merlin bit his lip. 

“Sorry?” 

“Shut up, Merlin.” 

+

Arthur watched as Merlin tried to get comfortable opposite him. Shadows crisscrossed over his face, from the way moonlight fought past the trees overhead and then through the net. They had been there for at least a couple of hours, and the jelly babies had all gone, along with a sizeable portion of both their dignities. 

“I don’t think anyone’s coming to get us until morning,” Arthur said, just to break the silence that had been building with every passing minute. Merlin shrugged, letting out a soft sigh. 

“They did give us permission to stay out here all night. And the aim of the game was to trap the other players.” 

“I’m not sure they meant it quite so literally,” Arthur murmured, playing glumly with the fraying ropes that made up their temporary floor, “but then, Mordred’s always been an extremist.” 

Merlin made a noise of agreement then yawned. “You could say that. I don’t like him.” 

“Really?” Arthur smirked, “I would never have guessed.” 

“Oh, shut up.” Merlin wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly looking miserable. “Can’t believe the bugger lured me in with _jelly babies_.” He sounded so genuinely disgusted with himself that Arthur felt any remaining annoyance he had towards Merlin begin to melt away. 

“Doesn’t matter,” he spoke softly with a shrug, “You _were_ hungry.” 

“Yeah...” Merlin looked away from Arthur, obviously chewing the insides of his cheeks as he pressed his forehead against the rope. “Sorry if you’re squished, by the way.” 

“I don’t mind.” The words slipped from him before he could think them through, and Arthur felt himself go red when Merlin shot him a curious glance. 

“You don’t mind that I can practically feel your dick with my feet right now?” At that moment, Arthur could sense Merlin’s challenging gaze, fixed on his face, and didn’t know whether to feel relieved or not that the situation of the boy’s trainers and his own cock had finally been brought up. He shifted, doing his best not to feel embarrassed when Merlin was being so stoic, and sighed. 

“Worse things could happen.” 

“Mm...I could be Morgana.” 

“Ew! Merlin, she’s my sister!” 

“Exactly! That would be worse, wouldn’t it?” 

Arthur closed his eyes in exasperation. “Honestly, Merlin, pretty much _anyone_ would be worse.” 

There was a short pause, and then Merlin quietly uttered, “Oh.” 

Arthur prised his eyelids back open, and grinned. “Don’t look too flattered, mate. It’s just...you have nice feet. Well, I say _nice_ —I mean they’re not totally gross.” 

Merlin just stared at him, looking unsure. “You like my feet?” 

“And your face,” Arthur admitted, in a sudden and rare fit of honesty. “When you’re not busy looking as gormless as possible, your face is kind of okay.” 

Another moment of silence passed, and Arthur observed Merlin absorbing this piece of information. “Right. Uh...thanks.” 

“No problem,” Arthur exhaled, curling up a little tighter and wondering why he suddenly felt breathless. “You should get some sleep.” 

“In _here _?”__

“Well, you manage to sleep practically anywhere else, so I don’t see why here should be any different,” Arthur answered primly. 

Merlin yawned again, lifting narrow shoulders as he muttered, “Fair dos. Stop moving though—this net is enough of a fucking nightmare already.” 

+

“Arthur, are you awake?” Merlin’s whisper carried in the darkness. 

The blond grunted. “No.” 

Merlin licked his lips, hooking long fingers around ropes on either side of him, just for things to cling onto. “You know I like your face too, right?” 

“Everyone likes my face,” Arthur mumbled, one of his eyes just visible and open enough to signal his interest and to reveal a glimmering pale blue iris. 

Merlin snorted and wrapped his arms tighter around himself. “Yeah, yeah.” 

“Sleep, Merlin.” 

“Okay.” 

+

“I’m cold,” Merlin whined, poking Arthur’s thigh with his foot. “I’m really cold.” 

Arthur sighed. The pair of them had been silent for perhaps an hour, apart from the chattering of Merlin’s teeth, the incessant sound of which clearly proved that he wasn’t about to sleep any time soon, no matter what he said. “You’re useless.” 

“It’s hard to be use _ful_ when you feel like your balls are about to freeze off!” 

For a second Arthur contemplated the boy who was already pretty much pressed against him, with his black hair awry and the imprints of the rope set into his pale skin. “I can’t believe you sometimes, I really can’t,” he admitted, the same time as he finally came to a decision, which in all honesty had been one of the easiest to make in his life. He scooted over so that Merlin had room to slot himself in neatly, turning and twisting until his head was resting on Arthur’s chest. 

“You mean you can’t believe how absolutely brilliant I am?” 

“Mm. Something like that.” And Arthur extracted an arm from where it was stuck somewhere between himself and Merlin, moving it until it was curled around the other boy’s shoulders. 

+

Merlin burrowed against Arthur’s chest, making the net rock gently, his hands curled into Arthur’s shirt. “I was scared, today,” he whispered, so quietly that Arthur had to strain to hear. 

“I know,” he replied. “You shouldn’t have been. But I know.” 

“What Mordred kept talking about with the others—about us being ‘too close’ and shit. It’s...it’s stupid. And all the crap he was saying about—” 

“What ‘fags deserve to be done to them’? Yeah.” Arthur felt anger prickle beneath his skin at the memory, and he briskly rubbed Merlin’s arms to warm them up and offer a sort of rough comfort. “I wouldn’t let him—or anyone—hurt you. But you already know that.” 

Merlin made no reply, apart from humming quietly, the top of his head bumping against Arthur’s chin. 

+

Arthur stroked his fingers through Merlin’s hair. He enjoyed the feel of their bodies fitting together, Merlin’s breath seeping into his shirt and warming his skin, but he was so tired that whenever his eyelids fluttered because Merlin twitched, or because the net swayed, his vision was blurry. It all came down to their simple bodies and simple sleep thoughts, and Arthur didn’t even consider what he was doing, when he dropped a kiss to the top of Merlin’s head. 

“Such an idiot.” 

+

“Did you kiss me?” 

“No.” 

“Yes, you did.” 

“I called you an idiot.” 

“But you kissed me first.” 

“Are you asleep yet?” 

+

Sunbeams slipped like fingers down into the forest, highlighting the shadows beneath Merlin’s cheekbones and dappling upon Arthur’s blond hair. Neither of them had gotten much rest, and both of them ached. Merlin lifted his head, to nudge his nose into Arthur’s neck and tickle. 

Instinctively, Arthur pulled him closer, even as his muscles protested against the simple movement. 

Merlin’s mouth moved with truly awful subtlety to where the tip of his nose had been moments before, pressing a soft and tentative kiss to the hollow of Arthur’s throat. 

Arthur sucked in a quick, shocked little breath, even as warmth flooded through him, and he drew Merlin up higher until he was practically cradled in his arms, half on his lap as they crushed their lips together, barely able to keep from shaking as exhaustion plundered their bodies at the same time as they plundered each other’s mouths. 

“Huh,” Merlin muttered when they pulled apart, his eyes suddenly filled with a spark of curiosity. 

Arthur’s teeth pulled worriedly at his own bottom lip. “’Huh’? Is that a good huh, or a ‘what the fuck’ huh?” 

“It’s a huh huh.” And it was so typically unhelpful, and so typically _Merlin_ that the blond just laughed and leaned in to try that kissing thing again. 

+

“C’mon,” Arthur mumbled against Merlin’s lips, wrapping his arms around the other boy’s skinny waist and manoeuvring him until he was straddling his lap. The tree they swung from creaked and Merlin’s eyes crinkled as he fought back a laugh, and tried not to fall. Arthur’s hands found his hipbones and bracketed them—surrounding them with a soft heat, while Merlin settled for simply clutching at Arthur’s broad shoulders, letting his fingers occasionally wander upwards and tangle in the hair at the nape of his neck. 

+

“What if we just never get rescued?” Merlin asked thoughtfully, tapping the tip of Arthur’s nose. It was truly and most definitely morning now. 

“We will be,” Arthur promised, “I am a Pendragon, after all.” 

“Ah, yes. They wouldn’t _dare_ let harm come to one of those. God, you’re an arse.” 

Arthur grinned, letting his hand skitter up over Merlin’s chest to tug playfully at one of his huge ears. The unspoken ‘ _you like me anyway_ ’ hung between them as the younger one fidgeted and batted Arthur’s arm away. 

“You’re the weirdest friend I’ve ever had, Merlin.” 

“That better translate into something complimentary, dickhead.” 

“Oh my God, just kiss me again! Fucking hell!” 

“Rude!” 

“ _Mer_ —” 

The net jumped and span, and Merlin’s forehead was solid against Arthur’s, his tongue wet and urgent. Below them, the ground writhed with their shadows, and the forest surrounding them rang with relieved laughter, punctuated by the stuttering knowledge that, now they had been caught together, they were going to stay that way. 

In all honesty, they didn’t have a problem with that.


End file.
